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randilynisFINDILYNStassa Edwards
6/02/16 4:33pm
The lawsuit is not asking for monetary damages, but rather requests that St. Paul’s work to keep the school safe (the girl’s father is an alumnus of the school).

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this before. It speaks volumes.

Why would the school fight this very reasonable demand? Would it be an admission of guilt that would leave them vulnerable to other litigation with financial consequences?
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  SehjmarandilynisFINDILYN
  6/02/16 4:36pm
  Yep, the parents certainly made the right move here (not that people who do seek monetary damages are in the wrong). Certainly nips any “just looking for a payout” right in the bud.
  
  Incidently, I have heard of it before. A friend of my husband’s sued his college after graduation to bring the campus up to code in terms of accessibility for those with disabilities. (Friend was in a wheelchair.)
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  Kris-the-Needlessly-DefiantrandilynisFINDILYN
  6/02/16 4:37pm
  Having worked at a private school, I think the ethos is to defend the name and reputation of the school at all costs. Even when said defense makes them look even worse.
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BrightEyesStassa Edwards
6/02/16 4:48pm
GOOD.

Anecdotal evidence alert:

Not even joking, when my oldest son was going in to middle school he was zoned for a terrible public school. We thought it best to put him in a private, Christian school. I was an idiot.

Fast forward to an overnight school function that I volunteered to chaperone and I heard a group of 13 year old girls stressfully exclaim to each other that they had to lose their virginities that weekend because “it was normal” before they graduate in to 9th grade/high school. When I butted in and asked them what they meant, they said that the boys there “expected” it of them. Totally stunned and disgusted, I went to the headmaster and senior staff that Monday morning. Not one of them took what I said seriously. One accused me of making it up and two of them told me to mind my own business. Another laughed about it and actually said “You know how girls are. They taunt and tease but don’t actually go through with it”. They did. According to my son every one of them felt pressure to have sex before entering high school. The school didn’t take a damn thing seriously about the situation or what I, a parent, had witnessed and heard. Worse, they blew it off like girls are just vixens doing their vixen shit.

Needless to say I pulled my son out from that school immediately. Best educational decision we ever made. I just feel immensely sorry for those other students whose parents had their heads up their ass.

Yes, there is a culture and it isn’t just at rich prep schools. It’s everywhere, including but not surprising, Christian schools.
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  Reader7890BrightEyes
  6/02/16 5:12pm
  Thank you for going to the headmaster even if you weren’t listened to.
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  BrightEyesReader7890
  6/02/16 5:14pm
  That’s what they tell you to do if you are concerned. It went fucking nowhere.
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Kris-the-Needlessly-DefiantStassa Edwards
6/02/16 4:33pm
If that whole disgusting senior salute was indeed a tradition, there is zero chance that staff members didn’t know about it. Zero.
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  Gypo NolanKris-the-Needlessly-Defiant
  6/02/16 4:41pm
  Oh, it most definitely was! You bet these assholes knew about it.
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  Hoyo AfrikaKris-the-Needlessly-Defiant
  6/02/16 4:53pm
  Paycheques > student safety.
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alter_egoStassa Edwards
6/02/16 4:36pm
she returned after Labrie’s trial, but left after being “intimidated” and “retaliated against.”

God dammit, of course she was.
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  Erik Lonnrotalter_ego
  6/02/16 6:57pm
  Hopefully that will be brought up in the suit as well. Even after the rape the school failed to provide a safe environment for her.
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foolyooStassa Edwards
6/02/16 4:29pm
This is a boarding school, where parents send their children to live and attend school. Seems like the school has a pretty large responsibility for the culture.
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  Poodletimefoolyoo
  6/02/16 7:31pm
  That are in loco parentis. From a legal perspective, their ass is grass.
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LadyCorenStassa Edwards
6/02/16 4:37pm
We categorically reject any allegations that St. Paul’s School has an unhealthy culture.

Ummm obvs you do if this is part of senior culture...
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FranklyStassa Edwards
6/02/16 4:38pm
The girl is no longer a student at St. Paul’s; according to the family’s lawyer, she returned after Labrie’s trial, but left after being “intimidated” and “retaliated against.”

That is both so sad and unsurprising. As she hasn’t been through enough. Good on the parents for putting their foot down on this kind of shit and simply not letting it go after Labrie was convicted. It’s going to be another tough year for the girl, though, with the lawsuit. I hope she has all the support she needs, is feeling safe, and someday, return to being a happy teenager again.
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  KK4BamaFrankly
  6/02/16 5:09pm
  What’s sad is that she was probably ridiculed by some of the girls that fell prey to Labrie and those like him.
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  dark swan queenFrankly
  6/02/16 5:28pm
  I was surprised that she actually attempted to go back. Good for her. That's very brave.
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SqarrStassa Edwards
6/02/16 4:34pm
Fair.
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Imperator FuriosaStassa Edwards
6/02/16 11:00pm
The lawsuit is not asking for monetary damages, but rather requests that St. Paul’s work to keep the school safe (the girl’s father is an alumnus of the school). The girl is no longer a student at St. Paul’s; according to the family’s lawyer, she returned after Labrie’s trial, but left after being “intimidated” and “retaliated against.”

I can’t access the WSJ article, but HuffPo published the complaint that was filed on Wednesday (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lawsuit-...) and the parents are definitely asking for monetary damages, not an injunction or a dec judgment.

On the merits, it really seems like the St. Paul’s administration willfully turned a blind eye to egregious conduct.

ETA: I got access to the WSJ article. The original article states that “The lawsuit doesn’t specify requested monetary damages,” not that it doesn’t ask for any. In the original complaint, the parents are asking the court to render a judgment “in excess of $75,000" to be established at trial—they did not request a specific amount, but they are definitely looking for damages. As well they should, because immense amounts of therapy and tuition refund still won’t make this right for J.D.
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  Prose15Imperator Furiosa
  6/04/16 6:46am
  This seems like an important correction for the author to make.
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IHaveThoughts Thinks 2016 Has No ChillStassa Edwards
6/02/16 5:10pm
The school claims not to be responsible for this culture? In the time-honored words of one Judge Judith Sheindlin, “I’m not buying it.”

I assume the teachers just figured it was normal high school boys trying to get laid shit which is why the boys-will-be-boys mentality has to be curbed. Sex can be casual and I certainly won’t make the argument that you can stop teenagers from trying to have sex, but you can absolutely discourage competitive sex and a culture where women are points and not people.
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